My Favorite Bean Soup Non-Recipe

08. June 2009 · 6 comments · Categories: Recipes · Tags: , ,

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I don’t often cook with a recipe. It’s not because I don’t like recipes, no. I love recipes and collect them by the dozen, but for most average days, things get too busy for me to actually read anything.  Besides, I’m not often as properly prepared to cook as I should be.  I wrote about my Recipe-less Soup a couple of years ago, but I like to revisit this one every now and then, especially because I change things over time, so the soup is a little different now.  (And no, I don’t cook it in the pot shown here – I just take really bad, non-appetizing food pictures so this nice pot will have to suffice.  Please imagine it is filled with hot, fragrant soup.  Thank you.)  So how does one make perhaps one of the most nutritious soups on the planet, and all without a recipe?  Here goes!

Start with dried beans.  Whatever beans you have.  Mix them, use only one variety, empty your cupboard of any half-empty bags of beans are lurking there.  I usually use a couple of cups worth, maybe three, depending on what whim strikes me.  Rinse the beans and dump in a big stock pot. (I’ve been cooking mine in a NutriWare Whole Grain Cooker which works great too.) Cover with lots of water and boil until almost soft.  Drain out the water and dump the beans back in the pot.  

Now the vegetables.  Chop some stuff.  Celery, carrot, onions are my staples here, but if you have a few other root vegetables etc., throw them in too.  Now take a whole peeled onion, carrot, zucchini, summer squash, etc. and wash and throw those in too without cutting them first.  Cover the whole shebang with water, add a glop of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and cook it until the vegetables are soft.  

Remove the whole vegetables and throw them in your blender with some of the broth, a scoop or two of beans, and a handful of fresh dark leafy greens such as dandelion, spinach, kale, or chard.  Blend until smooth and dump it back in the pot.  Squeeze in the juice of 1/2 a lemon, add a couple more handfuls of the leafy greens (chopped), and taste to see if you need more seasoning.  

This is a very easy soup to make – because of the dried beans it takes a few hours of cooking time, but your part in all of that is just to stir every now and then.  A big pot lasts us about a week, and it’s unbelievably healthy!

Nutrient-Rich Vegetable Soup (or How to Make Soup Without a Recipe)

17. May 2007 · 6 comments · Categories: Health, Recipes, Weight Loss · Tags: , ,


My very dearest friend has been asking me about a soup I make. It’s inspired by Dr. Fuhrman and his Eat to Live approach, which I’ve been studying lately. I picked up some soup tips from his radio show, but there is no formal recipe. Well, I’ve been making soups without recipes once a week for years, but my dear friend Mrs. Shmenkman isn’t exactly Julia Childs (although I believe she’s made leaps and bounds since the wooden spoon in the mixer incident of ’87). She’s had so many questions on “just how does one do this soup, anyway?” that I’ve decided to share it with all of you here, along with my tips on making soup without a recipe. This gives you endless freedom, as you have no ingredients to purchase. Think of the story Stone Soup, if you will.

This particular twist on homemade vegetable soup gives a wonderful vegetable base that makes a rich broth, and since it’s blended, it releases many nutrients. And there’s lots of room for creativity as well, which is a plus in my kitchen as I am prone to make stuff up as I go.

Let’s jump in to the soup pot, shall we?

First thing for this sort of recipe is a selection of dried beans. (Yes, Dear Shmenk, start with dried from a bag.) I like to pick a mix of whatever dried beans I have floating around in my cupboard, as I am a dried bean freak. But you can buy a nice bag of mixed beans if you choose. I usually do about two cups of dried beans, but hey, this is your recipe-less soup, so whatever blows your hair back.

Boil these beans in a pot (not the one for your soup) until they’re soft. If you change the water a few times as you go, you eliminate any – ahem – gas issues. Well, okay, you cut down on them. Beans are beans, after all.

In a separate soup or stock pot (the nice big ones are great), throw in a whole, peeled but not chopped onion, possibly a leek or two (just chop in a couple chunks – and watch out for dirt. Leeks love to hold dirt), and a peeled zucchini. (Edit here if you like. Sometimes I use carrots, summer squash, etc.) Add water, about the amount you’d like your soup to turn out to be. Boil these vegetables until they’re really soft. Then take a slotted spoon and transfer them to your blender, add a wee bit of the broth, add a handful or two of spinach, kale, collards, or other leafy greens, and blend until smooth. Now dump that right back into the pot.

When your beans are soft, drain the bean water and add the beans to the soup pot with your broth. Season how you like, possibly salt and pepper, some olive oil (like a glop or so), and add a few more veggies like sliced carrots, a diced onion, and whatever else is in your vegetable drawer that looks like it’s gotta go. Bring to a boil, then simmer on a medium or low heat until the vegetables are soft.

The trick for really great soup is taste testing. When it’s getting near the end, start checking it for salt content. And if you’re trying to watch the salt, add the juice of a lemon. Or add it anyway. It really helps. Sometimes I prefer some pickle juice, but then you’re really adding sodium. At the very end, when the fire is turned off, you can throw in a big handful of chopped fresh parsley and/or dill too. Taste, taste. Adjust. Serving this with a dollop of plain organic yogurt is really yummy too!

Now let’s all wish Mrs. Shmenkman the best of luck in her soup-making endeavors. I think she’s up to the challenge – there’s a Julia Childs in there yet!

Whew! I’m worn out. Think I’ll go eat a bowl of soup.

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